Old Drugs for a New Virus: Repurposed Approaches for Combating COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: There is a large global unmet need for effective countermeasures to combat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The development of novel antiviral drugs is expensive and too slow to meet the immediate need. The repurposing of drugs that are approved or are under advanced clinical investigation provides a cost- and time-effective therapeutic solution. This review summarizes the major repurposed approaches that have been proposed or are already being studied in clinical trials for COVID-19. Among these approaches are drugs that aim to reduce SARS-CoV-2 replication by targeting either viral enzymatic functions or cellular factors required for the viral life cycle. Drugs that modulate the host immune response

SUBMITTER: Saul S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7416635 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature